Google can’t scan and make every book ev…

Google can’t scan and make every book ever published available to the world because a Judge in NY thinks that consumers would be hurt if they were to get access to such information from only one company.  So instead, we’re not allowed to get access to that information at all.  Forget a monopoly…are they trying to tell us that no access to all the world’s published books is better than temporary monopolistic access?

Google invented this concept.  They have the resources to create this brand new product before anybody can.  But we won’t allow them to, because apparently Google has no right to risk their time, energy and money on the creation of a new service that consumers might or might not want.  They are inventing this new service in front of our eyes, so by definition, wouldn’t that new service be monopolistic initially?   Can you create an entirely new business and have competitors in it on day one?  I don’t think that’s possible it it?

And that’s the point — Google would indeed have some monopolistic advantages if they were allowed to create a new business.  Some might call that a “first-mover” advantage, but apparently our the regulators and regulations they chooses to enforce, don’t allow for Google to innovate for the benefit of the masses who apparently are better off without access to information than with access provided initially by Google.

Judge Rejects Google Book Deal Over Monopoly Concerns
Google promotes that settlement on its Google Books page as “with a broad class of authors and publishers to make the world’s books even more accessible …

PCWorld – 1061 related articles

To be sure, this book publishing set back to Google isn’t going to move the needle for the fundamentals of this company in the next year or two anyway.  And I sure don’t think the book-publishing-business saga is a catalyst for Google’s stock either.

But these anti-trust, privacy and other regulatory scrutinies of Google do indeed weigh on its multiple and affect its overall ability to cut its competitors throats as capitalistic endeavors are supposed to.

I’ve been nibbling on some Google recently as I start to rebuild my portfolio for the first time since I closed my hedge fund to become a TV anchor back in October 2007.  I do expect this company to continue to grow, to innovate and to make big money for shareholders — but we’re talking about needing to let the fundamentals grow and the stock rise without much multiple expansion until Google gets the regulators off its back.